Matthew 25:14 “For it will be like a man about to leave home for awhile, who entrusted his possessions to his servants. 15 To one he gave five talents [equivalent to a hundred years’ wages]; to another, two talents; and to another, one talent — to each according to his ability. Then he left. 16 The one who had received five talents immediately went out, invested it and earned another five. 17 Similarly, the one given two earned another two. 18 But the one given one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
19 “After a long time, the master of those servants returned to settle accounts with them. 20 The one who had received five talents came forward bringing the other five and said, ‘Sir, you gave me five talents; here, I have made five more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Excellent! You are a good and trustworthy servant. You have been faithful with a small amount, so I will put you in charge of a large amount. Come and join in your master’s happiness!’ 22 Also the one who had received two came forward and said, ‘Sir, you gave me two talents; here, I have made two more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Excellent! you are a good and trustworthy servant. You have been faithful with a small amount, so I will put you in charge of a large amount. Come and join in your master’s happiness!’
24 “Now the one who had received one talent came forward and said, ‘I knew you were a hard man. You harvest where you didn’t plant and gather where you didn’t sow seed. 25 I was afraid, so I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here! Take what belongs to you!’ 26 ‘You wicked, lazy servant!’ said his master, ‘So you knew, did you, that I harvest where I haven’t planted? and that I gather where I didn’t sow seed? 27 Then you should have deposited my money with the bankers, so that when I returned, I would at least have gotten back interest with my capital! 28 Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten. 29 For everyone who has something will be given more, so that he will have more than enough; but from anyone who has nothing, even what he does have will be taken away. 30 As for this worthless servant, throw him out in the dark, where people will wail and grind their teeth!’
If I understand this correctly, a poor investment strategy will land you in the darkness wailing and grinding teeth?
What if the market is just not performing? What if reading financial reports just doesn’t make sense to you? Are you screwed because you're not a “numbers” person?
Is my portfolio a true measure of my worth as a servant? Am I supposed to invest all of my resources into the crackpot ideas my brother-in-law has? WHAT IS MY INVESTMENT STRATEGY?! UGH!!!
Ah, money. That thing for which we sell our own soul to possess. And why do we do that? Because we want to be rich. No problems, no cares, no worries. Money is that cool liquid bandaid that seals up the wounds of our flesh. No blood out, no dirt in. But no healing either.
What can money give you that Abba cannot? You may be thinking this is a trick question but it really isn’t. They are separate things altogether.
You are convinced that if you love God, and you have money, then it must be God that gave you the money. You’ve hit that secret formula of true Kingdom living! So many pews are filled with people wanting this code cracked for their own lives: “I’m following God, God gave me money, and now I’m truly free.”
And yet you are still striving, still stressed, still miserable. Not free at all. The trouble with money is the more you have, the more you need. Such a seductive cloud of smoke, isn’t it?
We know we can’t serve both God and mammon so if we handwave and manipulate reality we can trick ourselves into thinking that God is who gave us the money we have. I won’t fully disagree with this statement, but we need to be careful we aren’t mapping this incorrectly. We need to be converting the world system of money into the Kingdom system of wealth. This would be why He puts you in certain positions in the world system. Of course, we stop there in understanding this model, and we keep all of the money for ourselves. But even the money we keep we don’t really keep, do we? It flows through our lives like water in a bucket full of holes.
Money is not the focus, though.
Look closely at this parable, though. He entrusted you with some of His possessions, not money. Money belongs to the world system, not the Kingdom. There is something else you’ve been entrusted with here. What is it? It’s obviously something we all have access to -- and we know that money is not one of those things everyone has. So what could it be?
We live for possessions. And that’s not just stuff. We long to possess authority. We long to possess comfort. Temptation in its truest form.
What is it you are really seeking though? What is that thing you so desperately crave? Hint: It’s the thing your Master has, and has in abundance. And He wants you to have it, as well.
What does your Master possess? What does He have that you deeply desire? The cattle on a thousand hills? Gold in abundance? Sure. But what value do these really have to you? It’s not like we want to take care of the cattle. Nor do we want to sleep on gold bricks. What we want to do is take those things and convert them into a cushy life worth coveting. Do you really think this is His heart's desire for you? To find all the ways you don’t need to rely on Him. To have whatever you want at your fingertips so you never again need to seek His face. I’m thinking not.
What does He have in abundance that He’d be willing to entrust to you? What are the things you can’t possibly take and use to your own destruction?
Love, kindness, compassion, justice, grace, mercy. These are things that your Master possesses and He’s put them in your hands to go and multiply them. The more you pour these out on others, the more it fills you up. Such an odd experience, such an odd process. Whatever you give, you get back in equal measure…times two.
Why wouldn’t you want to do this all the time? Well, if we knew the answer to this question we may end up healed. So be careful.
There was clearly some knowledge the Master had to only give the last guy one talent. There was apparently a history and track record that showed Him this one person could not be trusted with much at all. If they were going to lose it then at least it wouldn't be too much lost, right?
But they were given something. Even though they had very little ability, they still had 100 years of wages to work with. And so do you.
This concept of “ability” doesn’t seem to me to be about skill. Instead, it has everything to do with character and your willingness to receive His Spirit.
Perhaps you have the capacity to hold 5x the amount of compassion for others than the person that can hold just one. But you didn’t start here. There is evidence that precedes this moment. Years and years of what you’ve done has set the stage for what you’re capable of doing going forward. Sadly, for most of us, we have shown how little we truly care for those that are hurting.
We all start with 100 years of wages. We all begin as “one” but we can swell to the largest size vessel we choose. 2x, 5x, 10x, 100x. There is no limit to the amount of love and kindness you have been created to dispense. There is no vessel too large to house all of the grace and mercy He has to pour out through you. The compassion and justice available to flood all of creation is infinite. And you are the hose He wants to use to make this happen. There is only one question: Are you willing?
This one servant decided to keep inside what was designed to be released. They hid it. They buried it. No return whatsoever.
He was even counseled to at least use the world system of interest to generate some kind of fruit. Not what was expected but at at least it’s something. Even that he couldn’t (or wouldn’t) do.
We have a principle here that sheds some light on how things work in the Kingdom. When it comes to converting resources, the Kingdom works on multiplication. Seed produces more seed.
In the world, however, we see that growth is measured in percentages. Earning 20% on your money in the world system is considered very good. But earning 100% is more common in the Kingdom. In fact, this would be the base level return. One seed produces at least one seed. Not a fraction of a seed.
Even though the world system is garbage, there is a call to at minimum operate responsibly within it instead of sticking your resources into the ground.
Covering up your concern for others and cloaking it in the darkness of our selfishness is exactly what burying your talents looks like.
Despite all of the investment talk, I think we can all agree this has nothing at all to do with having a knack for navigating investments. I don’t even think this has anything to really do with money in general. I think this has to do with one small thing that was said: I was afraid.
Look at what the servant with one talent said:
“I knew you were a hard man. You harvest where you didn’t plant and gather where you didn’t sow seed. I was afraid…”
Where did this comment come from? What does it have to do with managing what the Master gave you to begin with? The other servants listened to what the Master said then went and did what they were tasked with doing. This person had an excuse they thought would release them from accountability. But all it did was increase accountability.
This Master has an expectation of abandoned commitment to His Ways -- and the servant knew it. He showed his hand here by acknowledging a full understanding of His Master and how He operates. It’s one thing to be stupid and make mistakes, but it’s a completely different thing to know the truth and rebel.
What are the Ways of the Master?
Loving those that don’t want to be loved. Showing sincere kindness to even the most difficult of people. Showering those that are hurting with heart-fluttering compassion. Fighting mightily for those in need of true justice. Extending grace by seeing people through the Master’s eyes, and displaying mercy by releasing others from your judgments.
Yes, He does reap where He did not sow. All of creation is called to walk in this way and He demands an account from those that choose to ignore or bury it in the ground.
This is a righteous Master. No one is immune to living by His standard. No one.
According to what is considered a “normal” wage, where are you?
Have you been given only enough to have food, clothing, and shelter? Or have you been given more according to your ability?
Let’s start by considering money because that’s the only thing that seems to get through our thick skulls.
For a lot of people (in the U.S. anyway), your salary is well above the amount needed for basic living. Your salary is a multiplication factor above it. Assume the cost of food, clothes and (reasonable) shelter were, say, $20k per year. (It’s probably closer to $10k but people will argue that’s not possible so we’ll stick with $20k.) Look at your annual salary, divide by $20k, and that will tell you your ability (right now anyway). How many “talents” do you have?
Before you get puffed up and full of yourself, it’s important to realize that none of this is yours. You have been entrusted with what you have based on your ability. You should have the ability to go and put that to use, generating much more than was originally given -- but not for you. It will be returned to your Master.
How does this make you feel? Are you ready to give an account?
Are you afraid? Afraid you won’t have enough? Afraid that what you have will be taken away? Afraid that you won’t have money during retirement? Or, more importantly, afraid you will be exposed for burying your talents?
Confront the fear. Seek your Master and ask Him why you are so fearful. Why can’t you trust Him? Why do you lean so heavily on your own strength? What lie do you currently believe that prevents you from boldly living the life He’s called you into?
Ask Him why you put so much faith into your own ability. Ask Him why the bondage of debt was allowed into your life. Ask Him how you can be released from the prison you've built around yourself.
If you are thinking about money as you read these things then you are totally lost. It has nothing to do with money. Your financial state is a symptom of the real problem: fear.
Fear of being transparent, vulnerable, and sincere. Fear of releasing judgments, fear of receiving healing, fear of living the life He has set before you.
Fair warning, if you hold onto that fear and bury what He entrusted to you, you will likely be thrown out into the darkness where there is wailing and grinding of teeth.
You have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear. Instead, you have received the spirit of adoption. Receive it. Do not allow money, the tool of this world, to control you any longer. Convert your money into Kingdom currency.
Love.
Kindness.
Compassion.
Justice.
Grace.
Mercy.
As an adoptive heir, you are to be filled with these things. Invest them into others and watch the change that occurs in your own life. Even better, watch the change that occurs in your death. Standing on that day of resurrection and hearing the following words being said to you:
‘Excellent! You are a good and trustworthy servant. You have been faithful with a small amount, so I will put you in charge of a large amount. Come and join in your Master’s happiness!’